That's the quandary Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke and pitching coach Rick Kranitz are mulling with the 27-year-old right-hander, who is out of minor-league options but has struggled mightily with his command and velocity this spring.

Roenicke said Friday morning that Rogers is not slated to make another spring start, though that could change. Roenicke said he and Kranitz are trying to figure out the best way to get Rogers back on track.

"He's going to probably throw a simulated game in the next (few) days," said Roenicke. "Then, we'll re-evaluate and see what we're going to do there. We've talked to him and want to figure out what's the next step to get him back to the guy we saw last September."

Rogers has looked nothing like the pitcher who went 3-1 with a 3.92 ERA in seven starts with the Brewers late last season. In three exhibition outings, he is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA, with eight hits, 10 runs (five earned) and 10 walks allowed in six innings, and just one strikeout. Those numbers don't include a two-inning outing against Team Canada in which Rogers issued four walks.

Making the situation even more puzzling is that Rogers' velocity has been way down from his usual norm of the mid 90s (mph).

Because Rogers is out of options, the Brewers would have to get him through waivers to send him to the minors. They figure he'd be claimed despite his command issues, so the alternative is to put him in the bullpen with hopes of getting him squared away there. But it's not easy to get back on track through relief work, which can be erratic.

"We've talked about that," said Roenicke. "Rick is going to do some things with him the next couple of days, and just see whether it's a minor-league game or an inning or two in relief for us. We're going to try to figure that out.

"Right now, I don't have him scheduled to start a major-league game but that's not to say he won't do it. The way he threw last year and what we all saw, he feels like he can do it. And we want to give him the opportunity to do it. But we need to get him back pitching that way before we move on with him."

Roenicke admitted that having no options in this particular case might not be advantageous for Rogers, though every player obviously wants to be in the big leagues rather than the minors.

"Sometimes it helps a player; sometimes it hurts a player," said Roenicke. "It certainly can help a player that has great stuff and you know belongs in the major leagues. Now, the club has that decision or probably somebody else is going to grab him.

"Where it hurts is (with) the guy that loses confidence completely and needs to go down to get that confidence back. It's not really usually an injury because you can DL a guy. So, sometimes it's not to their advantage to be out of options.

"The biggest thing is let's get him right. We want to get him right and now let's figure out what we're going to do. That' what we're trying to do."

If Rogers doesn't regain his velocity, another option for the Brewers would be to place him on the disabled list and say he's not physically ready to pitch at this time.

Barring a move from the outside, the starting rotation appears to be Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson, Mike Fiers and Wily Peralta. Roenicke has not committed beyond Gallardo and Estrada.

"We're trying to line it up that way and then from there we'll see how everybody else falls in place," said Roenicke. "I know who I'm thinking of and what's going to happen but I don't want to say that right now."

To get Gallardo and Estrada lined up for those first two starts after their participation in the World Baseball Classic, they will be brought back one day short on Sunday and Monday, respectively, but pitch fewer innings. Estrada pitched three innings Thursday in a minor-league game on what was a day off for the big-leaguers.

"We've been talking about what's better to do, whether it's better to skip (a start) right now and just have them make two starts until they pitch (in the regular season)," said Roenicke.

"At the beginning of the season, that should be the strongest that you feel. If you're not 100% starting the season, I want to do something to get you to where you do feel like you're 100%. Not just the number of pitches they can throw but the feeling that you have in your body to start. During the season, you're not going to continue to feel that way, so I want to make sure they at least start off feeling ready."

About Tom Haudricourt

Tom Haudricourt covers the Brewers and Major League Baseball. He was voted Wisconsin Sports Writer of Year for 2011 and 2012 by National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.